Golf shoe soles customarily include a substantial number of inserts therein, in the form of sleeves or bushes having a female screwthread therein for screw-threadedly and releasably fixing respective gripping elements such as studs or spikes to the sole. The inserts are usually arranged both on the front portion of the sole, where the front part of the foot including the ball thereof is supported, and the heel portion of the sole. The inserts in the front portion of the sole may be divided into first and second groups extending along two lines adjacent to respective edges of the sole, with one line of inserts thus approximately following the contour of the inside edge of the sole while the other line approximately follows the contour of the outside edge of the sole. A golf shoe sole of that kind may be found for example in the adidas catalogue for `Shoes`, marketing program, Apr. 1, 1980. The golf shoe sole disclosed therein has a ground-engaging side, namely the underside thereof, which is flat throughout, being therefore without a raised heel configuration.
Another golf shoe sole of generally the same kind is also to be found in German laid open application (DE-OS) No 31 20 349 in which the arrangement of the inserts for releasably fixing the gripping elements is different on the soles of each of the shoes forming a pair, more specifically being such that a larger number of inserts for carrying gripping elements is associated with the edge of the sole which is the front edge when considering the direction in which a ball is struck by the person wearing the shoes. For example, when considering a right-handed player, the front edge of the sole of the left foot is the outside edge of that sole, while the front edge of the sole of the shoe on the right foot is the inside edge. That design configuration is based on the idea that it is those edges of the soles which are required to have particularly good grip against the ground during a golf swing, and that effect is achieved by the presence of the above-mentioned larger number of gripping elements at the respective edges in question, as well as the fact that the entire respective edge of the sole is fitted with inserts for receiving gripping elements, from the tip thereof continuously to the heel region. However, that arrangement of gripping elements means that it is uncomfortable to walk about when wearing golf shoes having soles of that nature. In addition, it is necessary to provide a separate stock of golf shoes which are thus of a suitable sole configuration for right-handed players and left-handed players respectively.